The world’s attention turns to Paris on Friday for the start of the 2024 Olympics.
But despite hosting 10,000 athletes competing 329 events for medals at the Summer Gamesthe city has seen the construction of only a few new sports facilities, including a swimming field, a climbing wall, and a gymnastics and badminton court.
Aquatic Center
Opened in May, the Aquatics Centre in the Saint-Denis district in the northern suburbs of Paris, it has a modular configuration, with the possibility of changing from a 5,000-seat venue during the games to 2,500 seats for other events in the future. The the site cost $190 millionaccording to NBC Los Angeles.
the center, built by Paris-based Bouygues Constructionwill host artistic swimming, diving and water polo events this summer and will be open to the community after the Games.
Designed by Dutch architecture firm VenhoevenCS and French firm Ateliers 2/3/4 with low-carbon features, the roof of the wooden building is covered with photovoltaic panels, making it one of the largest urban solar farms in France and providing all the ‘energy needed by the installation.
Gate of the Chapel of the Arena
The Gate of the Chapel of the Arena opened in central Paris on February 11. The badminton and rhythmic gymnastics venue was the only new venue to be built in the city center for the Games. The arena cost $150 million, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Designed by the French the architecture firms SCAU and NP2F, the arena has a capacity of 8,000 and will also host badminton and powerlifting at this year’s Paris Paralympics. It was also built by Bouygues Construction.
Sport climbing Le Bourget place
The Le Bourget outdoor sport climbing site, which will also be a permanent fixture after the Games, it is located in the Seine-St. Denis. Designed to host competitions in the relatively new Olympic offering of sport climbing, the venue includes an indoor warm-up wall and four outdoor walls.
Sport did its thing Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020 with one men’s singles event and one women’s singles event. For the Paris Games, there will be two events per gender: a standalone speed event and a combined event for bouldering and lead, according to NBC Sports.
The lack of major new construction in Paris is a departure from previous Olympics. By 2021, eight new permanent spaces and 10 temporary installations have been created Tokyo Gameswhich had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
